smart | city


Winnipeggers swap whiteout for red and white


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anada is home to my parents from Italy. Tey immigrated here over 45 years ago for reasons similar to


other Italian immigrants: to create a better life for themselves and to start a family. My dad often


Downtown Stefano Grande


pul ls me aside and says in bro- k en Eng l i sh: “Stefano, you and your sisters have no idea of how good you have it here in this countr y.” My mom often reminds us that while she was born in Italy, Canada is her new country of choice. Despite the coldest of winters and the


peskiest of mosquitoes, my parents are proud Canadians. Tere’s a real sense of community here.


As Canadians, we all come together and get the job done – and welcome challenge. Canada’s got great hospitality, friendly and eclectic people, diverse landscapes – and is arguably one of the safest and most beautiful places to live. And most importantly, there are opportunities for everyone from any cultural background. And the pride and patriotism Canadians


have for their country is immeasurable. When travelling overseas for example, you see maple leaf patches on backpacks and distinctive Roots or HBC Canada clothing. It’s simple: Canadians are proud of their heritage, proud of their rocky mountains – and got pride, eh? Canadians want eve-


When the line started forming at 7 a.m.,


we knew our event really captured Win- nipeggers’ imaginations. And when every- one started singing "O Canada" together, I could not help but get shivers down my spine; this event was truly something else. Not only was there a strong showing of


people from a variety of backgrounds and cultures – a real multicultural mosaic and snapshot truly representative of our down- town community – there was a feeling of resilience and pride as participants still at- tended the event despite the pouring rain. I’m glad I got to share the experience


with my parents and family who were there too, along with my office staff. I brought my three sons to the event and they re- ally enjoyed the experience. Tey got to meet an assortment of Winnipeggers, all passionate about their city and their downtown. My wife packed a picnic to eat on the Legislative grounds afterwards too. Leading up to 2017 when Canada cel-


ebrates its 150th birthday, maybe we’ll even be able to take over the streets of Portage and Main and coordinate an even larger living flag. If you’re not reading this too late, we


are hosting this event again this year and need help from our community. We hope to bring out 5,000 Winnipeggers so we can beat last year’s record and other compet- ing cities. Tis year, we will jam to special perfor-


The Canada Day Living Flag event at The Forks last year.


ryone to know that their country is great (although most already do). Winnipeggers showed this shared sense


of national pride for Canada by standing shoulder to shoulder adorned in red and white at last year’s Canada Day Living Flag event, hosted by the Downtown Winnipeg


BIZ. While we did not defend our title as the largest living flag in Canada, one thing is for certain: 2,500 Winnipeg citizens dem- onstrated immeasurable civic pride and community resilience despite torrential downpour. Tis year, I hope we take back our rightful title!


Tourist! If you need help . . . We are all on the hook for our poor hospitality to FIFA visitors


Hon. Muriel Smith, then Minister of Tourism in Manitoba, thought I worked for her depart- ment. I didn’t. I was just a lowly volunteer serving for several years as president of what was then the Winnipeg Convention and Visi- tors’ Bureau. At the time, we were funded by a


M


Bold Ideas Dorothy Dobbie


civic grant of $36,000, topped up by about twice that amount from the province, with the rest of the op- erating funds coming from mem- berships. I remember the number $129,000 as our total operating budget. Our offices were on the second floor of the new Winnipeg Convention Centre, for which we also did much marketing. We had a tiny staff of two-and-a-half amaz-


ing people, Bob Locke, assisted by a woman named Bette and one other, who worked around the clock promoting the glories of Winnipeg as a tourist and convention destination. And we made quite a few waves, punching, as they say, way above our weight. Inevitably, we appealed to the city for more money – and


at our last conference, then mayor Bill Norrie agreed to provide it. What he didn’t say at the time was that in return he would convert the membership-based organization into an operating agency of the city, replacing the membership and volunteer board with appointees. Well, as they say, be careful what you ask for. Today, that agency, Tourism Winnipeg, is a division of


Economic Development Winnipeg, which has an annual budget of more than $5.3 million (the last report I could find on the Internet was for 2012). Te annual report showed that the city contributed $2,284,369, the province, $1,412,000 and “Partners and Investors” $1,613, 319 to the Economic Development budget. Te personnel budget accounted for 57 per cent of that


amount, while marketing was relegated to just 33 per cent, with the final 10 per cent allocated to overhead and rent. In 2012, there were complaints that the marketing budget was too low. In 2008, Mayor Sam Katz introduced the long-disputed ac-


4 Smart Biz


The recent FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015 soccer games played here were a success, but we could have given a warmer welcome to all of our visitors. Photo courtesy of FIFA.


commodation tax, collected by the city’s hotels. According to the Conference Board of Canada, this tax amounted to more than $5.6 million for the first 10 months of 2013. It is unclear how much of that is earmarked for tourism promotion, but Tourism Winnipeg states that it receives “an apportionment”. None of this explains how the tourism industry and its


marketing agency, Tourism Winnipeg, missed the mark when it came to hosting this year’s FIFA event. Not that they bear all the blame: there was a quartet of agencies responsible for FIFA, consisting of (in addition to Tourism Winnipeg), Travel Manitoba, the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ, the Winnipeg Air- port Authority and the Manitoba Hotel Association as well as the city itself. Perhaps the election interrupted the flow of information resulting in miscommunication about who was doing what. Even though FIFA did not ask that a local committee be


formed, our long history of hospitality in the town almost dictates a warmer welcome than our visitors got, and the lukewarm reception calls into question just how hungry our retailers, entertainment, cultural venues and tourism sites are. A local CBC Internet poll showed that over 75 per cent of


www.smartbizwpg.com


our citizens feel we dropped the ball on this one, when major attractions such as the Manitoba Museum and even the Hu- man Rights Museum closed at five or six o’clock. In spite of this, most people seem to have had a good time


in our town, but it does send out a wakeup call: we can do better. Instead of waiting for government agencies or indeed government itself, to make our city more attractive and at- tentive to visitors, let’s go back to the good old Winnipeg spirit of volunteerism. Your parents may remember when local tourism people


managed something called the STOP program which saw local cars carry stop signs in their back-seat windows that said, Tourists! If you need help, STOP me. Te cars were filled with information about the local tourist wonders, handed out by engaged and interested local citizens. We’ve come a long way since then, and I am not suggesting


we go back – we have such lovely, sophisticated tools now. But I am suggesting that relying on ourselves instead of govern- ment to support exciting local initiatives can only make us a better community. It’s up to you.


July 2015


any years ago, as the publisher of hotel and restaurant magazines across Canada, I was so much involved in the tourism industry that the


mances by resident rockers and you’ll have a chance to win great prizes. Stay tuned to find out where the flag will be assembling on July 1. For more information, visit www. downtownwinnipegbiz.com. Stefano Grande is the executive director


of the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ. Read more from him at www.stefanogrande.tumblr. com.


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